The present invention relates to storage packages, such as storage packages for recording media, and in particular to such a storage package which utilizes a short flipper to maintain the plurality of panels in a collapsed orientation for storage purposes and is optionally glueless for ecological purposes.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,188,230 discloses a storage package, such as a storage package for a recording medium, comprising a plurality of paperboard panels, a holder formed of plastic, and an end cap formed of plastic. The plurality of panels is movable between an open orientation enabling access to the contents of the package and a collapsed orientation for storage purposes. The holder is disposed on one of the end panels for receiving and maintaining an article (such as a recording medium) thereon, the holder having one end thereof remote from the other of the end panels when the plurality of panels are in the open orientation. An end cap or flipper has one end directly pivotally secured (e.g., by a living hinge) to the one end of the holder. The end cap has a portion thereof spaced from the one end thereof adapted to releasably engage the holder (e.g., the holder lateral sidewalls) at a portion thereof spaced from the one end of the holder when the plurality of panels is in the collapsed orientation and to maintain the plurality of panels in the collapsed orientation, thereby to preclude accidental movement of the plurality of panels out of the collapsed orientation. As illustrated therein, the end cap extends substantially the length of a full end of the holder (or at least substantially the full length thereof) and therefore extends the full length of a panel end.
The aforementioned design utilizing a "large" flipper or end cap--i.e., a flipper coextensive in length with an end of the holder and/or panel--has not always proven to be entirely satisfactory in use. The portion of the flipper which overlies an entire end of the top panel (i.e., the front panel) from one lateral sidewall to the other reduces the already limited space available on the top panel for artwork and the like. Additionally, from an aesthetic point of view the flipper is a distraction because it detracts from the package resembling a book. Finally, although the resistance afforded by the living hinge connecting the end cap to the holder and extending the full length of the holder and/or panel is only minimal, it may appear more formidable to a potential user.
U.K. Patent Application GB 2,266,514A published Nov. 3, 1993, discloses a container for a compact disc which utilizes a flipper of substantially reduced length compared to the holder end wall. However, this flipper is formed separately from the holder and must therefore be attached to the holder subsequently in a separate operation. Additionally, the flipper itself defines a line of weakness or living hinge which, it is believed, adversely effects the longevity of the flipper.
A further disadvantage of the storage packages illustrated in the aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 5,188,230 is their use of glue in order to secure together the holder and one of the panels. In certain European countries requiring the separate recycling of paperboard and plastic materials, it is highly desirable, if not mandatory, that every article be easily separable into its paperboard and plastic components. Accordingly, such storage packages have been modified in various ways to produce glueless embodiments--see, for example, the aforementioned U.S. patent applications Ser. Nos. 08/025,982 and 08/126,240. In certain of these glueless embodiments, the holder must be provided with additional living hinges, thus leading to manufacturing difficulties. In other of these glueless embodiments, the bottom or back panel tends to bow outwardly from the bottom or back face of the holder at the lateral sides thereof.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a storage package, such as a storage package for a recording medium, which in a preferred embodiment utilizes a short flipper having a length substantially less than that of the holder end or panel end wall.
Another object is to provide such a storage package wherein the end cap is permanently secured to the holder only at one end of the end cap and is devoid of any living hinge or line of weakness intermediate the ends thereof.
A further object is to provide a storage package, such as a storage package for a recording medium, which in a preferred embodiment is glueless to facilitate separation of the paperboard and plastic components thereof and yet holds the lateral sidewalls of the bottom or back panel to the holder without bowing.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a plastic intermediate for use in making such storage packages.
It is a further object to provide such storage packages and intermediates which are simple and inexpensive to manufacture, maintain and use.